Curated Love: Mixtapes to Playlists

Once upon a time—not too long ago—sharing music meant sitting by a cassette deck with your finger hovering over the “record” button, waiting for that perfect song to come on the radio. The mixtape wasn’t just a compilation of songs; it was a handwritten love letter in musical form, a sonic scrapbook of feelings, moments, and memories.

In the early 2000s, burned CDs took over. With a spindle of blank discs and access to Napster or LimeWire (shhh…), you could craft a 20-track masterpiece for your best friend’s birthday, your crush’s car stereo, or your next road trip. You’d scribble the tracklist in gel pen, decorate the cover with magazine cutouts, and deliver your gift like it was priceless because it was.

Fast forward to today, and we live in a world of endless streaming options. Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music have made it easier than ever to curate and share music. Playlists now have followers. Some even go viral. Whether it’s a “Sunday Morning Coffee” vibe or “Songs That Got Me Through 2020,” playlists are the new mixtape—a digital evolution of a deeply personal tradition.

What hasn’t changed is the intent. We still use music to say what we can’t always put into words. Whether it’s through a painstakingly arranged mixtape or a beautifully curated playlist, we share a piece of ourselves every time we hit “play.”